The Once-Ler
The Once-Ler is the protagonist villain and narrator of Dr. Seuss' 1971 book The Lorax, and its TV adaptation and the secondary antagonist-turned-deuteragonist in the 2012 film adaptation of the same name. He is an enigmatic individual who seeks to expand his business of making Thneeds, confronting the Lorax in his endeavors. In the 1972 animated special, he was voiced by the late . In the 2012 film, he was voiced by , who would later voice Mr. Krupp in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. Story The Once-Ler is a man who came to a bright and magical forest of "Truffula Trees" long ago to set up a business making garments called "Thneeds" out of the trees' fluffy foliage. The titular Lorax appears from the stump of the first tree he chops down and insists that he stop, but the Once-Ler dismisses him, saying that he has only chopped down one tree out of thousands and is doing no harm. However, the Thneed business quickly grows in size and popularity and more and more trees are cut down to make more of them as the shop grows into a factory, and the forest starts to become more and more damaged and polluted, driving off the creatures that live there. The Lorax continues begging the Once-Ler to stop and showing him the damage that he is doing but is still ignored. Eventually, all of the Truffula Trees are gone and so are all of the animals and, since no more Thneeds can be made, the Once-Ler's business ends. As the very last Truffula Tree is cut down, the Lorax "lifts" himself into the air and vanishes, having nothing left to protect, and leaves behind only a stone platform with the word "UNLESS" on it. Ever since the Once-ler has resided in the remains of the Truffula forest and has come to regret his actions. When a young boy comes wandering to his house, the Once-ler tells his story and gives the boy the very last Truffula seed in existence, telling him that if he plants it and takes care of it, the forest, the animals and the Lorax may eventually return. Appearance In the book and TV special, the Once-ler is never fully seen. His only visible traits are his yellow eyes and green hands since he is meant to be the personification of greed and the concept of business. However, the book implies that his "green hands" may really be gloves. In the film, the Once-ler is portrayed as a lanky human. As a young man, he has mop-like black hair, blue eyes, and a rounded face with light freckles. He wears a gray fedora, a white shirt, and a gray vest, with the shirt's sleeves, rolled up to fit his green gloves. He also has gray striped trousers and black boots. As he becomes corrupted by his business, he dons a green suit and tie, as well as sunglasses and a top hat. As an elderly man, the Once-ler retains his suit and hat, but now has a Thneed scarf around his neck. His hair has become gray, and he sports a mustache akin to the Lorax's. Personality The young Once-ler is portrayed generally as a very optimistic and sometimes a bit thoughtful person in the adaptations and original book, but that does not last long as he becomes more inconsiderate and is obviously taken over by greed. On the book and TV special, he is considered a total and completely centered villain. While he is also just as bad in the film, otherwise even more noticeable than in the other adaptation and original, it is clear that he was not made entirely the bad guy in the film, leaving the blame almost entirely in some other created character that did not appear in the book. This, just like the other changes, seemed to bother a lot of people when it comes to the moral of the story The Once-ler is in, that anyone could be bad if it took things too far. Gallery Images File:MV5BMTAzNzg3NjcyNzdeQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU3MDUyNTE5OTY@._V1._SX640_SY330_.jpg|The Once-Ler in the movie adaptation of The Lorax Once-ler's face revealed.png|The elderly Once-ler's face at the end of the film. Why do people like this character.png|The young Once-ler. Lorax-disneyscreencaps.com-6448.jpg|"How bad can I be?" Lorax-disneyscreencaps.com-6523.jpg Lorax-disneyscreencaps.com-6553.jpg|"I'm just building the economy!" Lorax-disneyscreencaps.com-6634.jpg Lorax-disneyscreencaps.com-6664.jpg|The Once-ler towering over the Truffula Forest. Lorax-disneyscreencaps.com-6671.jpg|The Once-ler's evil grin. LoraxEnding.png|The Once-ler reuniting with the Lorax. Videos Dr. Seus' The Lorax "How bad can I be?" -Official Hd 1080p- Trivia *Once-ler's action not only makes him an immoral man but also a very poor businessman as he never thinks of reserving the trees to ensure a steady supply of his production in the long run. In reality, every lumber companies always replant at least three trees for every single tree they cut down. Navigation Category:Greedy Category:Symbolic Category:Book Villains Category:Cartoon Villains Category:Movie Villains Category:Protagonists Category:Fallen Heroes Category:Nameless Category:Unseen Category:Enigmatic Category:Evil from the Past Category:Humanoid Category:Master Orator Category:Archenemy Category:Egotist Category:Friend of a Hero Category:Destroyers Category:Defilers Category:Polluters Category:Animal Cruelty Category:Neutral Evil Category:Male Category:Grey Zone Category:Wealthy Category:Redeemed Category:Elderly Category:Anti-Villain Category:Affably Evil Category:Mastermind Category:Power Hungry Category:Corrupt Officials Category:Type Dependent on Version Category:Status Dependent on Version Category:Social Darwinists Category:Siblings Category:Abusers Category:Tragic Category:Arrogant Category:Businessmen Category:Successful Category:Extravagant Category:Comedy Villains Category:Fantasy Villains Category:Related to Hero Category:Hypocrites Category:Evil Vs. Evil Category:Lawful Neutral Category:Non-Action Category:Theatrical Villains Category:Pawns Category:Delusional Category:Honorable